Texas State announced Friday that G.J. Kinne has been hired as the program’s new head coach.

Kinne, who turned 34 on Thursday, is a rising offensive mind who coached Incarnate Word to a FCS playoff spot this season. He will remain with the Cardinals (10-1) through the end of their season.

Kinne, who received a five-year contract, will look to revive a Texas State program that went 4-8 in 2022.

“It’s with great honor that I’m accepting the call to be next head football coach of the Texas State Bobcats,” Kinne said in a news release. “My family and I cannot wait to start the next chapter of our lives in San Marcos. …

“I’m excited to hit the ground running and compete for championships. We are going to surround our players with excellent coaches, who down to their roots are teachers at heart. We are going to play fast, have relentless energy, and when the going gets tough, have the mental confidence to win tight games in the second half and represent the state of Texas.”

Kinne was a star quarterback at Tulsa and passed for 9,472 yards, 81 touchdowns and 32 interceptions from 2009-11. He was Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year in 2010.

Kinne wasn’t selected in the 2012 NFL draft. He briefly played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League in 2016 before retiring the following spring and beginning his coaching career.

Texas State athletic director Don Coryell feels Kinne is a great fit for the program.

“We are beyond excited to have G.J. lead the next era of Texas State football,” Coryell said. “We had a tremendous pool of candidates and interest in this role, and Coach Kinne stood out from them all as he is a proven mastermind behind a new-wave offense, a champion with an NFL background, and has a pedigree rooted in Texas.”

Kinne replaces Jake Spavital, who went 13-35 in four seasons at the school.

–Field Level Media